<<

GeoArabia, Vol. 12, No. 3, 2007 Gulf PetroLink, Bahrain Plate

Review of Middle East Paleozoic

Dmitry A. Ruban, Moujahed I. Al-Husseini and Yumiko Iwasaki

ABSTRACT

The Paleozoic Middle East , neighboring the present-day Arabian and plates, are shown by most authors to consist of ten major tectonic units: (1 and 2) the Helmand and Farah terranes of , southwest and southeast ; (3 to 6) the , Central (Lut, and Tabas) and Sanandaj- Sirjan terranes of Iran, and Northwest Iran (possibly extending into eastern ); (7 and 8) the Pontides and Taurides terranes of Turkey; and (9 and 10) the Greater and Lesser terranes between the Caspian and Black seas (, , and southwest ). Published plate-tectonic reconstructions indicate that all ten terranes may have broken off from either: (1) the in the mid- as part of the Hun Superterrane; or (2) the Pangea Supercontinent during the mid- - as part of the Superterrane. To the north of Gondwana and Pangea, three successively younger Tethyan oceans evolved: (1) Proto-Tethys ( - ); (2) Paleo-Tethys (mid-Silurian - ); and (3) Neo-Tethys (mid-Permian - ).

Two regional Paleozoic unconformities in the are generally linked to major regional-scale structural events, and commonly correlated to the Caledonian and Hercynian . These orogenies took place many thousands of kilometers away from the Arabian Plate and are considered unlikely causes for these unconformities. Instead, the breakaway of the Hun and Cimmeria superterranes are considered as alternative near-field tectonic sources. The older unconformity (middle Paleozoic event), represented by a mid-Silurian to Middle Devonian hiatus in North Arabia ( and ), reflects an episode of epeirogenic uplift, which might be related to the mid-Silurian of the Hun Superterrane. The younger mid- Arabia-wide angular unconformity involved compressional faulting and epeirogenic uplift, and might be related to the earliest phase of by the Paleo-Tethyan crust beneath Cimmeria (Sanandaj-Sirjan and nearby ) before it broke off. Based on our review and regional considerations, we assign the Helmand, Farah, Central Iran, Alborz, Sanandaj-Sirjan, Northwest Iran, , Taurides and Pontides to Cimmeria, whereas the is considered Hunic.

INTRODUCTION

During the past decade, our general knowledge on the geochronological evolution, paleopositions, paleotectonic compositions and paleogeographic outlines of the has significantly improved (e.g. Dalziel, 1997; Stampfli et al., 2001, 2002; Lindsay, 2002; Cocks and Torsvik, 2002; Lawver et al., 2002; Stampfli and Borel, 2002; Veevers, 2003; Pesonen et al., 2003; von Raumer et al., 2002, 2003; Golonka, 2004; Scotese, 2004; Torsvik and Cocks, 2004). Yet today, many uncertainties persist in reconstructing the geological evolution of the regions adjoining the supercontinents, especially for the Paleozoic Era (Cocks and Torsvik, 2002; Torsvik and Cocks, 2004; Scotese, 2004). These regions are in themselves vast, and consist of numerous plate-tectonic units that are sometimes referred to as microplates, terranes, blocks, structural domains, and sometimes grouped into superterranes. The Middle East is a typical example of a border- that consists of a complex mosaic of tectonic units (Figures 1 and 2).

We identify the Middle East terranes, bordering the present-day Arabian and Levant plates, in Afghanistan, Iran, western Pakistan, Turkey, southeast Turkmenistan and the Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and southwest Russia) (Figures 1 and 2). Several of these terranes are strongly deformed and stacked within a wide tectonic belt between the Eurasian, Arabian and Indian plates.

35

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geoarabia/article-pdf/12/3/35/4566842/ruban.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 Ruban et al.

PLATES AND TERRANES OF THE MIDDLE EAST

20 30 40 50 60 70 FORMER ROMANIA YUGOSLAVIA Tect ALBANIA BULGARIA onic c ollage Aral 40 Sea Greater Caucasus GREECE Pontides Caspian Less Sea UZBEKISTAN er Caucasus TURKEY East Karakum- 40 Taurides Turkey TURKMENISTAN Turan Northwes Kopet-Dag CYPRUS Iran t SYRIA Alborz LEBANON LIBYA Farah 30 JORDAN Sana IRAQ IRAN Central Iran AFGHANISTAN Karakoram ndaj-Sirja

Zagros Levant Helmand

KUWAIT n 30 EGYPT PAKISTAN BAHRAIN ARABIAN Makran PLATE Arabian QATAR Gulf

20 Red UAE Sea SAUDI ARABIA Arabian Sea OMAN 20

SUDAN ERITREA N YEMEN 0 500 1,000

ETHIOPIA Km 10 30 40 50 60 70 Figure 1: The Middle East region consists of the present-day Arabian and Levant plates and numerous terranes (individual boundaries are shown in blue). During the Paleozoic ten large terranes are variably interpreted to have been adjacentSOMALIA to the Arabian and Levant plates (then attached 10to Gondwana and later Pangea). The Paleozoic Middle East terranes (colored brown) include Helmand and Farah (Afghanistan, southwest Pakistan and southeast Turkmenistan); Iran’s Alborz, Northwest Iran, Sanandaj-Sirjan and Central Iran; Turkey’s Pontides and Taurides; and the Greater and Lesser CaucasusZAIRE between the Caspian and Black seas (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and southwest Russia). The Makran and East Turkey regions may have a Paleozoic core or could have formed as Mesozoic 00 UGANDA accretionaryLake terranes.KENYA Victoria

00 Although30 T ANZANIAtheir boundaries40 are generally traced along50 well-preserved or/and60 reactivated Paleozoic 70fault systems, in some cases the borders remain unclear. Correlation of the sedimentary core complexes, however, suggests that all of these terranes share a common ancestry during some time in the Paleozoic Era.

The Middle East terranes were affected by the evolution of the Paleozoic Tethyan oceans, the Hun (Hunic or Intermediate) and Cimmeria (Cimmerian) superterranes, and the Gondwana and Pangea supercontinents (Figures 3 to 11; e.g. Sengör, 1990; Stampfli, 1996; von Raumer, 1998; Cocks and Torsvik, 2002; von Raumer et al., 2002, 2003; Stampfli and Borel, 2002; Stampfli et al., 2001, 2002; Torsvik and Cocks, 2004; Natal’in and Sengör, 2005; Xypolias et al., 2006). At least three major Paleozoic rift episodes occurred along the margins of Gondwana and Pangea (Figures 4 to 11). The first was in the Early when broke off from Gondwana. This episode was unlikely to have influenced the Middle East region, which was located about 6,000 km away (Figure 4). The second involved the mid-Silurian breakaway of the Hun Superterrane (Figures 6 and 7), the detailed reconstruction of

36

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geoarabia/article-pdf/12/3/35/4566842/ruban.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 Middle East Paleozoic Plate Tectonics

SUPERCONTINENTS, PLATES AND TERRANES

Laurentia Kara A NW va Chukot ATLANTIC lonia OCEAN

Armorica P eru Au n stro ica 60 N Alp - Med ine Sea Hellenic Moesia Tectonic West Siberian Manchurides collage Basin Apulia Pontides Mountains Kazakh Tau G Causus Terranes Adria L rides Causus K E Tur arakum N 30 N W K North o I pe ra -T n t-D uran Tarim Sanandaj- ag Sirjan Alborz Farah North (Qiangtang) Central Karakoram South Tibet South Iran Helmand China Makran Arabia India

Arabian Annamia GONDWANA Sea Supercontinent LAURUSSIA Supercontinent Sibumasu HUN Superterrane Equ CIMMERIA ator INDIAN OCEAN Superterrane Other 60 E 90 E 120 E Figure 2: The majority of the plates and terranes discussed in this review are shown after Torsvik and Cocks (2004). Besides the NW British Isles and the Chukot Peninsula in Russia, the Laurentia Supercontinent included and Greenland (see Figures 4 and 5). Laurentia later collided with Baltica and Avalonia to form the Laurussia Supercontinent (Figure 7). Besides Arabia, Africa and India, the Gondwana Supercontinent included , and Madagascar (see Figure 4). Also shown are terranes that may have been part of the Hun and Cimmeria Superterranes. Note that Karakoram in north Pakistan is Cimmerian and different from the Hunic Karakum-Turan .

which is unresolved due to insufficient paleomagnetic and paleontological data. This episode is relevant to our review because parts of the superterrane may have involved the Middle East terranes. The third episode is the mid-Permian - Triassic breakaway of several Middle East Cimmerian terranes from Gondwana, by then a part of Pangea (Figures 10 and 11).

In most Paleozoic reconstructions, the Middle East region is interpreted as part of the of Gondwana and Pangea until the mid-Permian - Triassic, when Cimmeria started to rift away, causing the opening of the Neo- (e.g. Sharland et al., 2001; Stampfli et al., 2001). In addition, two regional unconformities are recognized. The first corresponds to a mid-Silurian to Middle Devonian hiatus – “middle Paleozoic hiatus” – that is sometimes correlated with the Caledonian (e.g. Buday, 1980) (Figures 3, 5 to 7). The second unconformity represents a “mid-Carboniferous hiatus”, and is often correlated to the Hercynian Orogeny (e.g. Berberian and King, 1981) (Figures 3 and 9). These correlations do not provide a satisfactory plate-tectonic model for the Paleozoic evolution of the Middle East region because it was located far away from these two orogenies.

Our paper starts with a brief global review of the largest and relatively well-constrained Paleozoic

37

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geoarabia/article-pdf/12/3/35/4566842/ruban.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 Ruban et al.

GLOBAL GEOCHRONOLOGY ARABIAN PLATE ERA PERIOD AGE TECTONIC UNITS (Ma) Events N Central S 145.5 Pangea Breakup

199.6 Triassic MESOZOIC 251.0 PANGEA

Permian CIMMERIA Ocean Neo-Tethys

299.0 Hercynian Orogeny Carboniferous Mid-Carboniferous

359.2 LAURUSSIA Devonian OIC Caledonian Middle 416.0 Orogeny Paleozoic Paleo-Tethys Ocean Paleo-Tethys Silurian HUN PALEOZ 443.7 Ordovician

488.3 alonia

Cambrian Laurentia Iapetus Sea Baltica Av GONDWANA Ocean Proto-Tethys

542 Breakup Ediacaran

630 LEGEND

Cryogenian Rodinia Glaciogenics Clastics

850 Volcanics Evaporites Tonian Carbonates

NEO- 1,000 Figure 3: Simplified geochronology of the supercontinents, superterranes, oceans and seas, and generalized Arabian Plate stratigraphic column. The breakup of the Neo-Proterozoic Rodinia Supercontinent is not discussed in this paper. The geological time scale is after the ICS (International Commission on Stratigraphy; Gradstein et al., 2004). Two Arabian unconformities are associated with Gondwana glaciations: latest Ordovician-early Silurian (Figure 5) and late Carboniferous- early Permian (Figure 9). In Arabia the second glaciation followed a mid-Carboniferous structural event that coincided in time with the Hercynian Orogeny (Figure 9). Another North Arabian (and Oman) unconformity is associated with epeirogenic uplifting in the mid-Silurian (Wenlock) to Middle Devonian (middle Paleozoic event) and has been correlated to the Caledonian Orogeny (Figures 5 to 7). The Hercynian and Caledonian collisions were located many 1,000s of kilometers away from Arabia and could not therefore have transmitted significant lateral forces to its crust. Instead two near-field events may have played a more direct role: the breakaway of the Hun Superterrane in mid-Silurian (and possibly Devonian) (Figure 6), and the early compressional evolution of a subduction complex preceeding the breakaway of the Cimmerian Superterrane (Figure 11). Color scheme for tectonic units follows Figure 2.

plate-tectonic units and seaways. We adopt the conventions of the ICS (International Commission on Stratigraphy; Gradstein et al., 2004) by not capitalizing informal qualifiers “late, middle, mid, early, etc.” except where defined (Ordovician and Devonian). After setting the global stage, we discuss the smaller and less constrained units of the Middle East, many of which have unfamiliar names and interpretations. Most of the illustrated global reconstructions follow Cocks and Torsvik (2002) and Torsvik and Cocks (2004), as the involved units are adequately represented. We have also considered the global reconstructions by von Raumer (1998), Stampfli and Borel (2002), von Raumer et al. (2002, 2003), Stampfli et al. (2001, 2002), Scotese (2004), Natal’in and Sengör (2005) and others. Our principal objective is to present the Paleozoic plate-tectonic framework and nomenclature for the Middle East, which can form a basis for further refinements.

38

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geoarabia/article-pdf/12/3/35/4566842/ruban.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 Middle East Paleozoic Plate Tectonics

GLOBAL PALEOZOIC PLATE-TECTONIC SETTING

Gondwana, Laurussia and Pangea Supercontinents

The global plate-tectonic configuration during the Paleozoic was dominated by three supercontinents: Gondwana, Laurussia and Pangea. Gondwana, the largest supercontinent on from the Late Cambrian to mid-Carboniferous (Figures 2 to 8), consisted of several present-day plates including Arabia, Africa, most of Antarctica and Australia, India, Madagascar and most of , with numerous small terranes attached to their margins (Courjault-Radé et al., 1992; Cocks, 2001; Stampfli et al., 2001; Cocks and Torsvik, 2002; Stampfli and Borel, 2002; von Raumer et al., 2002, 2003; Fortey and Cocks, 2003; Scotese, 2004; Avigad et al., 2005).

During the Paleozoic Era, Laurussia was assembled out of three large plates (Avalonia, Baltica and Laurentia, Figures 3 and 5) and several island arcs in a series of orogenic phases (McKerrow et al., 2000; Stampfli and Borel, 2002; Scotese, 2004) (Figures 3 to 7). The collisional assembly of Laurussia caused the Caledonian Orogeny, an event that was redefined by McKerrow et al. (2000) to apply to the closure of the Iapetus Sea (Figures 3, 5 to 7).

•Avalonia consisted of easternmost North America and parts of northwest (Figures 2 and 3; also Avalonian-Cadomian Arc and Orogenic Belt of Linnemann et al., 2000, and Linnemann and Romer, 2002). Avalonia rifted from western Africa (in Gondwana) in the Early Ordovician (Cocks and Torsvik, 2002), and then drifted northwards until it collided with Baltica and Laurentia (Figures 4 to 7).

• Baltica consisted of the Russian Platform and extended to east of the (Figures 2 and 3, Cocks and Torsvik, 2002).

• Laurentia consisted of most of North America, Chukot Peninsula of eastern Siberia, Greenland, Spitsbergen and the NW British isles (Figures 3 to 5; Cocks and Torsvik, 2002).

Gondwana and Laurussia remained separated by the Rheic Ocean until the mid-Carboniferous (c. 325–310 Ma) when they collided during the Hercynian Orogeny to form the Pangea Supercontinent (Stampfli and Borel, 2002; Scotese, 2004; Figures 3, 8 and 9, Torsvik and Cocks, 2004). In the late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) and Permian, Pangea was enlarged with the amalgamation of the Kazakh, Siberia, Kara and other terranes (Figure 10). The combination of Laurussia with these terranes would later in the Mesozoic form the Supercontinent, a term that is easily confused with Laurussia.

Three Tethyan Oceans

The names of the Paleozoic oceans that separated the supercontinents are not unique and vary to reflect somewhat different interpretations. The seaway that opened to the north of the Paleozoic Middle East terranes is called the Paleo-Tethys Ocean by some authors (e.g. Sharland et al., 2001; Bykadorov et al., 2003). Others refer to it as the Proto-Tethys (or Asiatic Ocean) and reserve the term “Paleo- Tethys” for the ocean that opened in the mid-Silurian along the trailing edge of the Hun Superterrane (Figures 3, 7 and 8; e.g. Ziegler et al., 2001; Stampfli et al., 2001; Stampfli and Borel, 2002; von Raumer et al., 2002, 2003). Most authors adopt the Neo-Tethys for the ocean that opened in mid-Permian - Triassic along the African-Arabian margin of Gondwana (e.g. Stampfli and Borel 2002; also Meso- Tethys of Metcalfe, 1999; Pindos Ocean of Golonka, 2004; Figure 10). Following Stampfli and Borel (2002), we adopt Proto-Tethys for the early Paleozoic ocean to distinguish it from the late Paleozoic Paleo-Tethys and Neo-Tethys oceans (Figures 3–10).

The interpretation of the lateral extent and evolution of the Tethyan oceans can vary. Hünecke (2006), for example, argued that the Middle-Late Devonian ocean between Gondwana and Laurussia was not as large as depicted by Stampfli and Borel (2002) and Torsvik and Cocks (2004). Stampfli and Borel (2002) and von Raumer et al. (2002, 2003) interpreted that in the Late Ordovician-early Silurian, the eastern branch of the Proto-Tethys Ocean might have closed when Serindia terranes (North China and

39

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geoarabia/article-pdf/12/3/35/4566842/ruban.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 Ruban et al.

Subduction LATE CAMBRIAN: 500 Ma Rift

Arc Up Down Siberia Continent

Slab Kara

P PRO-TETHYS A Aegir N OCEAN T Sea H A L Baltica A S Iapetus S I Kazakh C Sea Armorica Hellenic Adria O Greenland Sibumasu C Annamia E A lonia Perunica South N Ava China Tarim Pontides Sanan Rheic South Pole Ocean daj Laurentia Apulia Strike-slip Taurides NW Iran Mid-ocean rift North Central Iran America U Arabia Subduction Africa Helmand D Mexican South Terranes America 60 North Tibet GONDWANA GONDWANA South Kara- Supercontinent Tibet koram LAURUSSIA India Supercontinent HUN Australia Superterrane 30 CIMMERIA P A Antarctica Superterrane NT HA LA Other SS IC O CEAN Figure 4: Plate-tectonic reconstruction of the Late Cambrian times (modified after Cocks and Torsvik, 2002). The terranes included in the Hun Superterrane (green) are mostly after Stampfli et al. (2001, see Figure 6). Torsvik and Cocks (2004) show several terranes breaking away from Gondwana in the middle Paleozoic but do not appear to recognize the Hun Superterrane (Figure 7). The Adria terrane (Figures 6 to 9, after Torsvik and Cocks, 2004) was not shown in Cocks and Torsvik (2002) and is located arbitrarily in Figures 4 and 5. Middle East terranes (Figures 1 and 2) not shown are Alborz, Farah and Caucasus. Pontides shown as Hunic by Cocks and Torsvik (2002), but considered Cimmerian in our paper (in stripes). Schematic diagram at top right illustrates oceanic slab subducting below (down or D) the continent (up or U).

Tarim) amalgamated with Gondwana. Several authors interpreted the initial opening of the Neo-Tethys Ocean in early rather than mid-Permian (Vannay, 1993; Garzanti and Sciunnach, 1997; Garzanti et al., 1994, 1996a, b, 1999; Stampfli and Borel, 2002; Angiolini et al., 2003), or to have started north of Australia in the Carboniferous and extended diachronously westwards into the Permian (Stampfli, 2000). Iapetus Sea and Rheic Ocean

Two more Paleozoic seaways are significant for our review (Figures 3 to 7). The Iapetus Sea, which separated Laurentia, Avalonia and Baltica in the early Paleozoic, closed in the late Silurian when these terranes joined to form Laurussia (Figures 3 to 5). The Rheic Ocean (also Rheic-Mauritania, Rhenohercynian or Hercynian-Rheic) opened in the Cambrian along Avalonia’s northerly trailing edge (Figures 3 to 7). During the Devonian-early Carboniferous (c. 420–320 Ma), Gondwana drifted towards Laurussia, closing the Rheic Ocean (Figures 7 and 8, Torsvik and Cocks, 2004). In the mid- Carboniferous, the Hercynian Orogeny occurred along a front between northwest Africa and southeast North America and closed the Rheic Ocean (Figure 9; incorrectly referred to as the Iapetus Sea in Al- Husseini, 2004).

40

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geoarabia/article-pdf/12/3/35/4566842/ruban.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 Middle East Paleozoic Plate Tectonics

LATEST ORDOVICIAN-EARLIEST SILURIAN: 440 Ma PANTHALASS IC OC EAN

Baltica Kara Siberia

Perunica Sibumasu

Iapetus Sea PROTO-TETHYS OCEAN Annamia lonia n Front Ava Armorica Adria RHEIC Pontides OCEAN Caledonia Hellenic Laurentia South Mexican Taurides China Sanandaj Terranes South Pole Gondwana Apulia South Glaciation Mid-ocean rift America NW Iran U Subduction D Arabia C Iran 60 GONDWANA Helmand Supercontinent P A North Tibet N South LAURUSSIA T Tibet Kara- Supercontinent H koram A L India HUN A S Superterrane S IC 30 CIMMERIA O Superterrane C E Antarctica AN Other

Figure 5: Plate-tectonic reconstruction of the latest Ordovician-earliest Silurian times (modified after Cocks and Torsvik, 2002). During the final Stage of the Late Ordovician, polar glaciers advanced over regions of Gondwana reaching western Saudi Arabia (Vaslet, 1990). Baltica and Avalonia were joined, closing the Iapetus Sea where the Caledonian Orogenic Front was located. Middle East terranes (Figures 1 and 2) not shown are Alborz, Farah and Caucasus. Adria terrane is located arbitrarily (see Figure 4 caption). Pontides shown as Hunic by Torsvik and Cocks (2004), but considered Cimmerian in our paper (in stripes).

Hun Superterrane

Plate reconstruction of the mid-Silurian to mid-Permian northern margin of Gondwana fall into two general models (Figures 6 and 7). Whereas both show the breakaway of various terranes from Gondwana, they differ in detail and lateral extent – particularly near the Middle East region.

In the first model, following Stampfli et al. (2001) and Stampfli and Borel (2002), the ribbon-like Hun Superterrane extended from westernmost Iberia (in Spain) to Qiantang (Figure 6). This superterrane is also referred to as the Hun Composite Superterrane because it is divided into (Figure 6): (1) the northern Hun Cordillera terranes (also European Hunic terranes); and (2) the southern Hun Gondwana terranes (also Asiatic Hunic terranes) (von Raumer, 1998; Stampfli et al., 2001; von Raumer et al., 2002, 2003; Stampfli and Borel, 2002; Schulz et al., 2004). This division reflects the separate evolution of the two sets of terranes after they docked along Laurussia in the late Paleozoic. The Hun Superterrane rifted away from Gondwana in the mid-Silurian (possibly in different phases that lasted into the Devonian) and then drifted towards Laurussia, with which it collided in the Devonian-Carboniferous (Figures 3, 6 to 8). Interpretations of late Silurian paleocurrents indicate that the Panthalassic (north of the Proto- Tethys) waters did not mix with those of the Paleo-Tethys (Johnson et al., 2004), thus suggesting that the Hun Superterrane remained consolidated until at least the Early Devonian.

41

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geoarabia/article-pdf/12/3/35/4566842/ruban.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 Ruban et al.

HUN SUPERTERRANE, LATE SILURIAN: 420 Ma

10 LAURUSSIA Khanti-Mansi Sea

Laurentia n Orogen Baltica Kipchak Arc

Caledonia 10

PROTO-TETHYS OCEAN alonia Av PROTO-TETHYS Hun Gondwana OCEAN Terranes Hun Cordillera South Terranes Alpine 30 Penninic North Austro-Alpine Tarim Carpathian Helvetic Dinaric- RHEIC OCEAN Moldanubian Qiangtang Hellenic Karakum Pontides Moravo- Pamirs South Silesicum Intra- -Turan Istanbul Ligerian Alpine Tarim Alboran Aquitaine Moesia Saxo-Thuringian Cantabria Menderes- PALEO-TETHYS Taurus Channel 50 OCEAN Terrane Sana Armorica Apulia Hellenides ndaj-Sirjan North Ossa-Morena -Taurides Tibet NW Iran Central Helmand South Iberia Iran Tibet GONDWANA Arabia Cimmerian Terrane Africa 70 India Figure 6: Plate-tectonic reconstruction of the late Silurian (Ludlow) by Stampfli et al. (2001) shows the Hun Superterrane rifting away from the Gondwana Supercontinent. The Paleo-Tethys Ocean formed between Gondwana and the superterrane. The superterrane is divided into the southern Gondwana and northern Cordillera terranes. Stampfli et al. positioned the Istanbul and Pontides terranes (North Turkey) near a subduction zone at the northern boundary of the Hun Cordillera terrane. In contrast, Sengör (1990; see Figure 11) placed the Pontides (in stripes) in the Cimmeria Superterrane and associated it with a middle Carboniferous-Mesozoic subduction-arc that continued into the Sanandaj-Sirjan terrane. Middle East terranes (Figures 1 and 2) not shown are Cimmerian Alborz, Farah and Lesser Caucasus. The Hunic Greater Caucasus may have been located further east beyond Qiangtang.

From west to east the Hun Cordillera terranes included: Ossa-Morena, Channel, Saxo-Thuringian, Moesia, Istanbul, Pontides, Ligerian, Moldanubian, Moravo-Silesicum, Helvetic, South Alpine, Penninic, Austro-Alpine, Carpathian and North Tarim (Figure 6; Stampfli et al., 2001). The Hun Gondwana terranes included: Iberia, Armorica, Cantabria, Aquitaine, Alboran, Intra-Alpine terranes (Adria, Carnic, Austro-Carpathian), Dinaric-Hellenic, Karakum-Turan, Pamirs, South Tarim, Qiangtang, North and South China, and Annamia terranes (Stampfli et al., 2001; Stampfli and Borel, 2002; the latter two easternmost terranes are shown in Figure 1, but not in Figure 6). In the Devonian, the Kazakh terranes may also have been close to the Hunic Cordillera Superterranes (Stampfli and Borel, 2002). The remaining adjoined with Pangea were Apulia, Hellenides-Taurides, Menderes-Taurus, Sanandaj-Sirjan, Northwest and Central Iran, Helmand, North and South Tibet.

In the second model, several terranes broke off and had drifted some distance away from the northwestern margin of Gondwana by the Early Devonian (Figure 7; Torsvik and Cocks, 2004). They also formed a ribbon-like superterrane that vaguely resembles the western part of the Hun Superterrane (compare Figures 6 and 7). The breakaway group included: Rheno-Hercynian, Armorica (includes Iberia), Adria, Pontides, Hellenic and Moesia (Figures 2 and 6). The Rheno-Hercynian and Perunica

42

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geoarabia/article-pdf/12/3/35/4566842/ruban.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 Middle East Paleozoic Plate Tectonics

EARLY DEVONIAN: 400 Ma

Siberia 30 N

Tarim North China

Kazakh Kara Equator Annamia PROTO-TETHYS LAURUSSIA OCEAN Baltica Pontides Hellenic Adria Moesia Armorica South PALEO-TETHYS China Chukot OCEAN Perunica Taurides RHEIC OCEAN Sanandaj n Orogen Rheno-Hercynian Apulia Mid-ocean rift NW Iran

U lonia Subduction D Ava Central Caledonia 60 S Africa Iran Arabia GONDWANA Supercontinent North South Helmand America LAURUSSIA America Supercontinent Mexican GONDWANA HUN Terranes South North Tibet India Superterrane Pole South Tibet CIMMERIA Superterrane Antarctica Other

Figure 7: Plate-tectonic reconstruction of the Early Devonian (modified after Torsvik and Cocks, 2004) shows the breakaway from Gondwana of several terranes that together resemble the western Hun Superterrane (Stampfli et al., 2001; Figure 6). Both reconstructions show the Pontides (in stripes) as Hunic whereas we favor a Cimmerian assignment. Middle East terranes (Figures 1 and 2) not shown are Hunic Greater Caucasus and Cimmerian Alborz, Farah and Lesser Caucasus. Note that North Tibet and Qiangtang are synonyms in Torsvik and Cocks, but two different terranes in Stampfli et al.

are considered as separate terrane between the Hunic terranes and Baltica (in Laurussia) (Kríz et al., 2003; Torsvik and Cocks, 2004). Following the breakaway event, terranes adjacent to Gondwana were Apulia, Taurides, Sanandaj-Sirjan, Northwest and Central Iran, Helmand, South Tibet (Lhasa) and North Tibet (Qiangtang) terranes.

Some differences and confusion occur when comparing the two models in detail. The term Qiangtang (also Qangtang) is a synonym for North Tibet in Torsvik and Cocks (2004; Figure 2) and positioned next to South Tibet (Lhasa). In contrast, Stampfli et al. (2001) show Qiangtang as Hunic but North Tibet as Gondwanan (Figure 6). Other confusing terms are Karakum and Karakoram (also spelled as Karakorum). Karakum and neighboring Mangyshlak of Torsvik and Cocks (2004) are equivalent to the Karakum-Turan terrane (Figure 1). Karakum-Turan was not attached to Gondwana in the late Paleozoic (L. Angiolini, written communication, 2006) and probably Hunic (Figure 6). Karakoram is located in northern Pakistan (Gaetani, 1997; Figure 1), which belonged to Cimmeria (L. Angiolini, written communication, 2006). Further studies of the Cambrian-Ordovician rocks in Karakorum, based on the works of Gaetani et al. (1996), Gaetani (1997), Quintavalle et al. (2000) and Rolland et al. (2002), may provide new insights for its early Paleozoic paleoposition. Turan is often mentioned as a plate, but the Russian term ‘plate’ differs in meaning from ‘tectonic plate’, causing some further confusion (Laz’ko, 1975). It remains unclear whether Karakum and Turan formed one or several terranes.

43

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geoarabia/article-pdf/12/3/35/4566842/ruban.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 Ruban et al.

EARLY CARBONIFEROUS: 340 Ma

30 N Siberia Kazakh Taimyr Kara Baltica Tarim

Equator North Perunica China Hellenic- LAURUSSIA Moesia Pontides Adria Armorica 30 S North PALEO-TETHYS OCEAN America

Apulia Taurides Sana ndaj NW Iran RHEIC OCEAN Mid-ocean rift 60 S Central Iran Sibumasu Africa U Arabia Helmand Subduction D Mexican Terranes GONDWANA GONDWANA India South Australia Supercontinent America South South LAURUSSIA Pole Tibet North Tibet Supercontinent HUN Superterrane Antarctica CIMMERIA Superterrane Other

Figure 8: Plate-tectonic reconstruction of the early Carboniferous (Mississippian) (modified after Torsvik and Cocks, 2004). The Hun Superterrane had closed the Proto-Tethys Ocean and the Rheic Ocean was closing as Gondwana and Laurussia drifted towards each other. Middle East terranes (Figures 1 and 2) not shown are Hunic Greater Caucasus and Cimmerian Alborz, Farah and Lesser Caucasus. Pontides shown as Hunic by Torsvik and Cocks (2004), but considered Cimmerian in our paper (in stripes).

Cimmeria Superterrane

In the mid-Permian - Triassic, Cimmeria started rifting away from Pangea and closing the Paleo-Tethys Ocean to the north, while opening the Neo-Tethys Ocean in its wake (Figure 10). Less clear is which terranes were Cimmerian, or Hunic or possibly neither. Torsvik and Cocks (2004, Figure 10) show Cimmeria to consist of Apulia, Taurides, Sanandaj-Sirjan, Northwest and Central Iran, Helmand and North Tibet (Qiantang). They place South Tibet (Lhasa) to the north of India, however noting that it is not constrained by paleomagnetic or faunal content. Stampfli et al. (2001) and Stampfli and Borel (2002) (Figures 1, 2 and 6) included in Cimmeria: Apulia, Hellenides-Taurides, Menderes-Taurus, Sanandaj-Sirjan, Northwest and Central Iran, Helmand, South and North Tibet. A comparison indicates that several Middle East terranes (Northwest and Central Iran, Taurides and Sanandaj-Sirjan) are considered Cimmerian by both groups of authors.

In contrast to the somewhat generalized Cimmeria of some authors (e.g. Sharland et al., 2001; Stampfli et al., 2001; Stampfli and Borel, 2002; Torsvik and Cocks, 2004), Sengör (1990, Figure 11) showed the Cimmeria breakaway event in substantial detail and to consist of three ribbons. He divided North Tibet into East and West Qiangtang and considered the former as the leading Cimmerian ribbon. The “Intermediate” ribbon consisted of East Pontides, Dzirula Massif, Artvin/Karabagh, Sanadaj-Sirjan, Northwest Iran (including Alborz), Central Iran (Yazd, Tabas, and Lut), Farah, central Pamirs (China) and West Qiangtang. The trailing third ribbon included Helmand and South Tibet. The latter two

44

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geoarabia/article-pdf/12/3/35/4566842/ruban.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 Middle East Paleozoic Plate Tectonics

ribbons connected to Australia, and the Neo-Tethys Ocean consisted of several seaways. Significantly for our paper, Sengör’s model intepreted a subduction zone along the northeast front of Sanandaj- Sirjan and other northerly terranes, a subject that will be discussed later. The Intermediate ribbon of Natal’in and Sengör (2005) is generally comparable with the Cimmerian Superterrane.

PALEOZOIC OROGENIES AND THE ARABIAN PLATE

In most of the pre-Permian Paleozoic reconstructions (Figures 4 to 9), the Arabian Plate is generally depicted inland from the Tethyan margins of Gondwana, or later Pangea. Until the mid-Permian (Figures 10 and 11), it is shown as bounded by the Middle East terranes and, for the most part, at latitudes of about 30° to 60° south. Two regional hiatuses that were associated with polar glaciations occurred in the Late Ordovician Hirnantian Stage (Figures 3 and 5; Vaslet, 1990; Abed et al., 1993) and in the late Carboniferous - early Permian (Figures 3 and 9; Osterloff et al., 2004).

Two structurally significant unconformities have been recognized in the Arabian Plate (Figure 3). The mid-Silurian (Wenlock) to Middle Devonian hiatus is regionally manifested in Syria and Iraq, and possibly other parts of the Middle East (Brew and Barazangi, 2001; Al-Hadidy, 2007). Because of its age, it was correlated to the Caledonian Orogeny by some authors (e.g. Buday, 1980). In southeast Arabia (Oman), distinct hiatuses occur in the mid-Silurian (Wenlock) to earliest Devonian, and in the Middle Devonian to mid-Carboniferous (Millson et al., 1996; Droste, 1997; Osterloff et al., 2004). It would therefore appear that parts of Arabia could have been uplifted as highlands, most probably sometime between the mid-Silurian and Middle Devonian. These highlands may be related to pre-rift thermal swelling or post-rift isostatic rebound associated with the breakaway of the Hun Superterrane (Figure 6), rather than the Caledonian Orogeny (Figure 5).

The mid-Carboniferous unconformity is sometimes correlated to the Hercynian Orogeny, and the term “Hercynian unconformity” is adopted in regional and local studies by numerous authors (e.g. Stöcklin and Setudehnia 1972; Berberian and King, 1981). In Saudi Arabia, the angular pre-Unayzah unconformity correlates to the mid-Carboniferous hiatus (Figure 3, c. 325–310 Ma, Al-Husseini, 2004; at least Serpukhovian, Bashkirian and early Moscovian, Gradstein et al., 2004). The associated differential structural relief is manifested by broad epeirogenic swells (many 100s of kilometers in lateral extent) and laterally extensive (100s of kilometers) upthrown blocks (several 100s of meters), bounded by transpressional to reverse faults (Wender et al., 1998; Al-Husseini, 2004). The Hercynian Orogeny appears to have been too distant to account for the severity and style of this in deformation in Arabia (Figure 8 and 9).

An alternative to correlating the Hercynian Orogeny to the mid-Carboniferous Arabian unconformity is considered in the interpretation shown in Figure 11 of Sengör (1990). This Early Triassic reconstruction shows a SW-oriented subduction zone of the Paleo-Tethys beneath parts of Cimmeria. Next to the subduction complex, the Podataksasi Arc (a name Sengör derived from the initial letters of Pontides, Dzirula, Adzharia-Trialeti, Artvin-Karabagh and Sanandaj-Sirjan; Figure 11) was mainly a Carboniferous episode of orogenic deformation, metamorphism, and arc-type, calk-alkaline magmatism. This interpretation is based on a detailed study of successions in the involved terranes (see Sengör, 1990). Natal’in and Sengör (2005) included the Podataksasi Arc in the so-called Silk Road Arc, which stretched during the late Paleozoic-early Mesozoic from the Caucasus through north Iran and the Pamirs to China.

Further westwards, Xypolias et al. (2006) extended the subduction-arc model from the Pontides to the Hellenic terrane (External Hellenides) and northeast Greece. U-Pb dating of zircon from a granitic orthogneiss in the Kithira Island (southern Greece) yielded a late Carboniferous age of 324–323 Ma. Taken together with other geochronological data from the Aegean region it provides evidence for a restricted period of plutonism between 325–300 Ma (Xypolias et al., 2006). These authors concluded that northeast Greece (Cycladic and Palegonian basements) and northwest Turkey (Menderes Massif in the Taurides terrane and Sakarya Zone in the Pontides terrane) formed part of Cimmeria.

A reviewer (written communication, 2006) noted that a subduction complex does not transmit compressional horizontal stresses across broad regions and, moreover, a SW-directed compression

45

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geoarabia/article-pdf/12/3/35/4566842/ruban.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 Ruban et al.

LATE CARBONIFEROUS: 310 Ma

Siberia

Kara

Tarim 30 N URALIAN OROGEN Kazakh North China Baltica PANGEA (Laurussia and Gondwana) Hellenic- Adria Moesia Equ ator North PALEO-TETHYS America Pontides OCEAN Apulia Taurides HERCYNIAN OROGEN Sanandaj-Sirjan NW Iran PANGEA Central Iran Mid-ocean rift (Laurussia and 30 S Sibumasu Gondwana) Arabia U Mexican Helmand Subduction Terranes D Africa South GONDWANA America India Supercontinent South North Tibet Tibet LAURUSSIA Supercontinent Gondwana Australia Glaciation HUN Superterrane Antarctica CIMMERIA Superterrane South Other Pole

Figure 9: Plate-tectonic reconstruction of the late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian; modified after Torsvik and Cocks, 2004). In the mid-Carboniferous times, the collision of Gondwana and Laurussia closed the Rheic Ocean causing the Hercynian Orogeny. Also in the late Carboniferous the collision of the Kazakh terranes with Pangea caused the . In the Arabian Plate, an angular mid-Carboniferous unconformity is associated with epeirogenic swells and extensive compressional block faulting and a regional hiatus between about c. 325–310 Ma. The unconformity is widely referred to as “Hercynian” and associated with the Hercynian Orogeny. A more proximal tectonic event that may have caused the deformation of Arabia may have been the initiation of subduction along the Paleo-Tethyan margin of Cimmeria (Figure 11). The late Carboniferous - early Permian Gondwana glaciation extended into southern Arabia. Middle East terranes (Figures 1 and 2) not shown are Hunic Greater Caucasus and Cimmerian Alborz, Farah and Lesser Caucasus. Pontides shown as Hunic by Torsvik and Cocks (2004), but considered Cimmerian in our paper (in stripes).

appears inconsistent with the NS-trending grain of the fault-bounded Arabian structures. He pointed out that the initiation of subduction is commonly associated with a strong pulse of trench suction leading to roll-back, both processes exerting a strong extensional pull on the continental margin overlying the evolving subduction zone. As an analog to the Hercynian Orogeny’s influence in Arabia, he suggested the present-day Indian Plate. It is piercing into the anisotropic assembly of Central South , with its effect reaching even the distant east coast of Asia. He concluded that a far-field relationship to Hercynian orogenic forces still cannot be completely excluded in Arabia.

Besides the data supporting a compressional mid-Carboniferous pulse due to a subduction-arc complex (Sengör, 1990, Figure 11; Xypolias et al., 2006), the concerns raised by the reviewer can be addressed. Whereas subduction complexes are indeed driven by slab-pull and associated with back-arc extension in the continental margin, this regime develops after an initial compressional stage. The pre-subduction stage involves first rupturing the entire oceanic crust (10 or more kilometers thick) and initiating

46

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geoarabia/article-pdf/12/3/35/4566842/ruban.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 Middle East Paleozoic Plate Tectonics

LATE PERMIAN: 255 Ma

60 N Siberia

Kazakh Baltica 30 N PANGEA (Laurussia and North Gondwana) China

Adria North Hellenic- America Moesia PALEO-TETHYS Pontides OCEAN South Taurides China Sanandaj Equator Zagros NEO-TETHYS OCENW Iran Apulia Central Iran Sibumasu

PANGEA Helmand Mid-ocean rift (Laurussia and Arabia Gondwana) U Subduction D South AN America 30 S Africa India GONDWANA South North Supercontinent Tibet Tibet LAURUSSIA Australia Supercontinent HUN Superterrane 60 S Antarctica CIMMERIA Superterrane Other

Figure 10: Plate-tectonic reconstruction of the late Permian (Lopingian) time (modified after Torsvik and Cocks, 2004). In the mid-Permian - Triassic the Cimmeria Superterrane broke away from Gondwana, now part of the Pangea Supercontinent (Gondwana and Laurussia supercontinents, as well as Kazakh, Siberia and other terranes). Middle East terranes (Figures 1 and 2) not shown are Hunic Greater Caucasus and Cimmerian Alborz, Farah and Lesser Caucasus. Pontides shown as Hunic by Torsvik and Cocks (2004), but considered Cimmerian in our paper (in stripes).

subduction along a new thrust zone. The horizontal forces required to fracture the brittle crust, then bend and push down the oceanic plate are not only compressional but of regional significance. In some cases, the thrust geometry is reversed and the compressional force is great enough to push the oceanic crust above the continental margin resulting in an obduction. It is considered here that the mid-Carboniferous event was an early pre-subduction compressional phase, while the mid-Permian - Triassic was the extensional one.

The relationship between a SW-directed compression and the NS-trending Arabian uplifted fault blocks was one of mid-Carboniferous transpression along pre-existing NS-oriented fault systems. The Arabian manifests a fault system with a NS-, NE- and NW-trending grain that was established in the late Proterozoic and Early Cambrian (Al-Husseini, 2000, 2004). We argue that a SW-directed compressional pulse would have caused the pre-existing Arabian basement-cored structures to be dislocated in a right-lateral transpressional style.

In summary, it seems likely that two regional angular unconformities in the Arabian Plate were related to plate-tectonic events that occurred in the vicinity of the Middle East terranes. The mid-Silurian to Middle Devonian unconformity (middle Paleozoic event instead of Caledonian Orogeny) may have involved the uplift of the northern Arabia margin (and Oman) in Gondwana. The uplift may have occurred along the newly formed Paleo-Tethys Ocean prior to, during or possibly after the breakaway

47

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geoarabia/article-pdf/12/3/35/4566842/ruban.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 Ruban et al.

of the Hun Superterrane. The mid-Carboniferous unconformity (instead of Hercynian unconformity) may have resulted from deformation caused by a compressional subduction-initiation phase along the outer margin of Cimmeria before it broke off in the Middle Permian-Triassic.

DISCUSSION OF THE MIDDLE EAST TERRANES

In this section, we discuss the various plate-tectonic interpretations of the individual Middle East terranes (Figures 1 and 2). We highlight conflicting interpretations and suggest preferred interpretations where data and regional considerations allow. The terrane-by-terrane sections follow from present- day northwest to southeast (Figure 1).

The Pontides and Taurides Terranes

Turkey (Figure 1) presently occupies the active collision zone between the Arabian and Eurasian plates (Bird, 2003), and interpretations of its Paleozoic history vary from a single terrane to several. Scotese (2004) positioned Turkey next to the Levant and Egypt (Figures 1 and 2) throughout the Paleozoic and early Mesozoic, and in the Cretaceous showed it drifting northwards until it collided with in the middle Cenozoic (c. 30 Ma). Similar single-terrane models involving only Mesozoic rifting were adopted by others (e.g. Grabowski and Norton, 1995; Sharland et al., 2001).

Göncüöglü and Kozlu (2000) separated Turkey into the northern Pontides and southern Taurides by a Paleozoic ocean that closed in the Carboniferous. They correlated post-collisional granitoids and suggested that the Taurides was originally Gondwanan. As discussed earlier, Sengör (1990, Figure 11) considered the Pontides (and Kersehir) and Taurides (Menderes-Taurus) terranes to be parts of two Cimmerian ribbons with the intervening Neo-Tethys (Inner Taurides) Ocean.

Several authors, however, interpreted the Pontides as Hunic and the Taurides as Cimmerian (Figures 6 and 7; Stampfli et al., 2001; Cocks and Torsvik, 2002). Moreover, based on a detailed analysis of foraminiferal paleobiogeography and plate tectonic review, Kalvoda (2002) concluded that Turkey was Laurussian, rather than Gondwanan. An investigation of the Carboniferous (Viséan) foraminiferal and algal paleobiogeography suggests that the Taurides was located along the northwestern border of the Paleo-Tethys (Okuyucu and Vachard, 2006).

Therefore it appears that the Paleozoic paleopositions of the main Pontides and Taurides terranes of Turkey remain unresolved in the literature. As discussed above, we favor the interpretation of these two terranes as Cimmerian and specifically within the regional context of the mid-Carboniferous subduction-arc complex (Figure 11, Sengör, 1990; Xypolias et al., 2006).

The Caucasian Terranes

The Greater Caucasus terrane is presently located south of the Russian Platform (Gamkrelidze, 1997; Tawadros et al., 2006) (Figures 1 and 2, i.e. Baltica), and its Paleozoic sedimentary complexes crop out in the central Greater (Ruban, 2006). Paleontological data from Silurian (Ludlow) carbonates (bivalve and ammonoid assemblages, Bogolepova, 1997), Pennsylvanian paleobotanical data (Anisimova, 1979), and middle and upper Paleozoic paleomagnetic data (Shevljagin, 1986) suggest that the Greater Caucasus was not a part of Baltica, as traditionally proposed (e.g. Laz’ko, 1975; Bykadorov et al., 2003). The faunal and floral assemblages, as well as the lithostratigraphic architecture, are similar to those of Hunic Perunica and Carnic (Central and Alpine Europe, Figures 2 and 7). Moreover, its lower Silurian mainly clastic and volcaniclastic succession resembles that of the Hunic margin of the Paleo-Tethys.

In the Middle-Late Devonian (until Famennian) about 4,500 m of mixed volcaniclastics and volcanic rocks were deposited in the Greater Caucasus (Kizeval’ter and Robinson, 1973). The volcanic activity may have been due to tectonism between the Greater Caucasus and other Hunic terranes. Alternatively, the magmatic activity may have been associated with the closure of the Rheic Ocean (Stampfli and Borel, 2002; Figure 6). We therefore follow Tawadros et al. (2006) in assigning the Greater Caucasus to the Hun (probably Cordillera) Superterrane.

48

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geoarabia/article-pdf/12/3/35/4566842/ruban.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 Middle East Paleozoic Plate Tectonics

The early Paleozoic location of the Greater Caucasus before the Hunic breakaway is uncertain. Tawadros et al. (2006) positioned it along the African-Arabian margin of Gondwana, but without constraining data. In the mid-Paleozoic, it was located near the easternmost extremity of the Hun Cordillera terranes with westward strike-slip dislocation along the northern Paleo-Tethys Shear Zone in the Carboniferous - Middle Triassic, and eastward dislocation in the Late Triassic - Early Jurassic (not depicted in figures in this paper). Such a late Paleozoic to Mesozoic shear zone may have stretched along the southern margin of Laurussia and connected with an intra-Pangean shear zone (Arthaud and Matte, 1977; Swanson, 1982; Rapalini and Vizán, 1993; Lawver et al., 2002; Stampfli and Borel, 2002; Bykadorov et al., 2003; Vai, 2003; Garfunkel, 2004; Natal’in and Sengör, 2005; Ruban and Yoshioka, 2005; Tawadros et al., 2006).

Stampfli and Borel (2002) positioned Kazakhstan (or parts of it) along the easternmost part of the Hun Superterrane suggesting proximity to the Greater Caucasus in the Devonian. Available paleontological data does not support this suggestion. The species Paciphacops occurs in the upper Silurian to Lower Devonian strata and its distribution encompasses the circum-Pacific (Merriam, 1973; Wright and Haas, 1990; Ramsköld and Werdelin, 1991; Edgecombe and Ramsköld, 1994). Its presence in Kazakhstan (Maksimova, 1968) and absence in Europe suggests the former was located on the margin of the Panthalassic Ocean, i.e. too far to be Hunic. This is also confirmed with other paleontological data (Blodgett et al., 1990; Campbell, 1977; Chlupác, 1975; Kobayashi and Hamada, 1977; Maksimova, 1972; Ormiston, 1972; Perry and Chatterton, 1976; Pedder and Oliver, 1990; Pedder and Murphy, 2004).

The Lesser Caucasus (Transcaucaus) terrane is presently located south of the Greater Caucasus, and north of Turkey and Iran (Figures 1 and 2). Interpretations based chiefly on paleomagnetic and paleontological data (Lordkipanidze et al., 1984; Gamkrelidze, 1986), indicate that it was apparently a separate terrane. It appears to have drifted northwards together with Cimmeria (“Iran-Afghan” microcontinent of Gamkrelidze). In the absence of conflicting evidence, we assign the Lesser Caucasus to Cimmeria. We also conclude that the paleopositions of the Caucasus along the margin of Gondwana or within the two superterranes remain unconstrained.

East Turkey, Northwest Iran and Alborz Terranes

The Eastern Turkey, Northwest Iran and Alborz regions are inconsistently interpreted in published reconstructions. Sengör (1990) interpreted Eastern Turkey as a Neo-Tethyan accretionary prism. Northwest Iran is considered Cimmerian and similarly depicted by several authors (e.g. Sengör, 1990; Sharland et al., 2001), but is sometimes referred to as the Alborz terrane by others (Stampfli et al., 2001; Torsvik and Cocks, 2004). In this review we consider Northwest Iran and Alborz as separate terranes (Figures 1 and 2).

Based on paleobiogeographic studies, Kolvoda (2002) suggested that the Alborz terrane was a part of the late Paleozoic Laurussia Supercontinent. Angiolini and Stephenson (in press), based on a re- examination of early Permian (Asselian-lower Sakmarian) of the lower Permian Dorud Formation in the Alborz Mountains and a new study of palynomorphs from the same formation, also concluded that there is little affinity with Gondwana and the peri-Gondwanan region. fauna shows affinities with those of Baltica (Urals and of the Russian Platform), and to a lesser extent to the Trogkofel (Carnic Alps) in the west. The palynomorph assemblage is completely different from those recorded from the Asselian-Sakmarian Granulatisporites confluens Biozone, which is ubiquitous in the Gondwana region. L. Angiolini (2007, written communication) and coworkers, based on their studies and published data, concluded that the Alborz, Northwest and Central Iran remained adjacent to one another throughout most of the Paleozoic. This is reflected by the continuity and common evolution of their Paleozoic sedimentary rocks, and uniform distribution of biota. They attribute the similarity of the record to the Urals to surface currents and the low latitudinal position of the Iranian terranes.

In summary, Eastern Turkey may not have been a Paleozoic terrane. The Alborz, Northwest and Central Iran terranes were apparently adjacent to one another. Their paleobiogeographic signature suggests a Laurussian affinity, but in the absence of more definitive data we follow most authors and assign them to the Cimmerian Superterrane.

49

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geoarabia/article-pdf/12/3/35/4566842/ruban.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 Ruban et al.

EARLY TRIASSIC: 245 Ma

a East Pontides K rakaya Oce Dzirula Massif an North Tibet Block I n Kersehia Adzharia-Trialeti n (East Qiantang) M e Block r n Artvin/Karabagh e T cea n a e O d urid e ck Leading res s Blo -Tauru Podatakassi Ribbon S (Silk Road a n PALEO-TETHYS Z a a n g d OCEAN Pamphylian ro -S Arc Levant s Arc) - irj Basin O an ? m a n N Djulfa Region Tabas Block eo -T Yazd Block et hy s Northwest Iran Lut Block Oman Arabia Exotics Farah Central Iran Block Africa Microplate (CIM)

Intermediate Ribbon Helmand PANGEA Block Central Pamirs WASER/RUSHAN PSHART/BANGGONG CO NU JIANG OCEAN

Trailing Atlantic-type continental margin Ribbon Rift margin Strike-slip fault North Tibet Block ? Subduction zone (teeth on upper plate) (West Qiantang) Subduction zone (conjectural)

H

i Carbonate m

a l Sandstone India a y a Shale n N South Erosional area e Tibet o -T Mafic layered intrusion (Sikhoran) e th y Rift volcanism s Australia Arc volcanism

Figure 11: Plate-tectonic reconstruction of the Early Triassic (modified after Sengör, 1990). Sengör interpreted the breakaway of the Cimmeria Superterrane to consist of three ribbons that detached at different times from Pangea. L. Angiolini (2007, written communication) and coworkers believe that this model is probably valid although it is very difficult to prove in detail. For example, their data suggests that the Helmand terrane may have been attached to the middle ribbon. Sengör interpreted the embryonic Neo-Tethys Ocean to consist of several seaways: Inner Taurides, Zagros- Oman, an unnamed sea south of Oman, Himalayan and Waser/Rushan-Nu Jiang. A subduction-arc complex is interpreted along the Paleo-Tethyan margin adjacent to the Sanandaj-Sirjan terrane and possibly extending further to the southeast and west. The initiation of subduction in mid- Carboniferous times may have caused the epeirogenic swells and compressional faulting in the Arabian Plate.

Sanandaj-Sirjan Terrane

The Sanandaj-Sirjan terrane (Figures 1, 2, 4 to 11) was attached to the (and the Arabian Plate) until it broke off as part of Cimmeria in the mid-Permian - Triassic (Berberian and King, 1981; Sengör, 1990; Grabowski and Norton, 1995; Stampfli et al., 2001; Sharland et al., 2001; Scotese, 2004). Most authors show the Paleozoic position of Sanandaj-Sirjan adjacent to the Zagros , effectively implying that today it occupies the same approximate position as 250 million years ago.

50

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geoarabia/article-pdf/12/3/35/4566842/ruban.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 Middle East Paleozoic Plate Tectonics

This seems remarkable as it was involved in the opening and closing of the Neo-Tethys Ocean. During the opening it may have subducted the Paleo-Tethys (Sengör, 1990), and during its closing, the Neo- Tethys (Ghasemi and Talbot, 2005). Central Iran

Sengör (1990) divided the Central Iran microplate into the Lut, Tabas and Yazd blocks (Figure 11). Other authors consider Central Iran and Lut as synonyms (Stampfli and Borel, 2002; von Raumer et al., 2002, 2003; Torsvik and Cocks, 2004; Scotese, 2004; Golonka, 2004); or two neighboring terranes: Central Iran and Lut, or Yazd and Lut (e.g. Sharland et al., 2001; Stampfli et al., 2001). We adopt Sengör’s Central Iran terrane and follow others by considering it as Cimmerian. Zagros Mountains and Makran Region

The Zagros Mountains region in southwest Iran forms a part of the - collision zone between the Arabian and Eurasian plates (Figure 1). This region was a part of the Arabian Plate from the late Neoproterozoic to the present-day (Berberian and King, 1981; Sepehr and Cosgrove, 2004). During the Permian-Triassic (Figures 10 and 11), the opening of the Neo-Tethys Ocean along the Zagros Suture Zone was accompanied by normal faulting and horsts and graben systems (Sepehr and Cosgrove, 2004).

South of the Zagros Mountains, the Makran region in Iran and Pakistan (Figure 1) consists of the Inner Makran ophiolites and the Cenozoic Makran and Saravan accretionary prisms (McCall, 1997, 2002, 2003). This region is associated with the NE-directed subduction of the Gulf of Oman oceanic crust (a remnant of the Neo-Tethys Ocean) beneath Iran. The Makran core may have amalgamated with Central Iran and Sanandaj-Sirjan during the Triassic (McCall, 2003). Therefore, Makran may have formed a part of Mesozoic Cimmeria. Helmand and Farah Terranes

Afghanistan, western Pakistan and southeast Turkmenistan are cored by the southern Helmand and northern Farah terranes and considered Cimmerian (Figures 1 and 2; Sengör, 1990; Sharland et al., 2001; Stampfli et al., 2001; Golonka, 2004). Scotese (2004) adopted Sengör’s (1990) model showing Helmand and Farah formed parts of two Permian-Triassic ribbons (Figure 11). Together with Karakoram in north Pakistan, the Farah and Helmand terranes are considered Cimmerian. CONCLUSIONS

Recent publications that interpreted the Paleozoic tectonic units of the Middle East and their paleopositions were reviewed in the global context of supercontinents and exhumed vast oceans, to individual terranes. Adjoining the Arabian and Levant plates, ten Paleozoic Middle East terranes were apparently involved in the evolution of the Gondwana and Pangea margins and the Hun and Cimmeria superterranes. The Cimmerian terranes that broke off from Gondwana in mid-Permian - Triassic appear to have been: (1 and 2) Turkey’s northern Pontides and southern Taurides; (3 to 6) Alborz, Central Iran (Lut, Tabas and Yazd), Sanandaj-Sirjan and Northwest Iran; (7 and 8) Helmand and Farah of Afghanistan, western Pakistan and southeast Turkmenistan; and (9) the Lesser Caucasus. The Greater Caucasus may have been Hunic.

The Caledonian and Hercynian orogenies occured far away from Arabia. Correlation between these two orogenies and deformations in Arabia can be misleading. They imply that far-field stresses were transmitted many thousands of kilometers from the orogenic fronts to Arabia’s crust. The terms Caledonian and Hercynian should not be applied to the tectonic evolution of Arabia. Instead two significant and more proximal tectonic events were identified as possible near-field sources of regional deformation. The mid-Silurian breakaway of the Hun Superterrane is identified as a candidate that may be related to the mid-Silurian to Middle Devonian (middle Paleozoic) uplift in North Arabia and possibly Oman. The initiation of subduction, which could have preceeded the mid-Permian - Triassic breakaway of Cimmeria, is considered a possible force for the regional mid-Carboniferous faulting and epeirogenic deformation in Arabia.

51

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geoarabia/article-pdf/12/3/35/4566842/ruban.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 Ruban et al.

Middle East plate-tectonic models require much more data and investigations if they are to be firmly constrained. The first step is to adopt common boundaries and names for the terranes, not only for the Middle East, but also of those in Asia and Europe (Figures 1 and 2). The second step requires constructing a regional tectono-stratigraphic framework that crosses from the interior of the Arabian Plate and its outer margins (Oman, Zagros, North Iraq, Syria and Southeast Turkey) to the ten and possibly more Middle East terranes. The framework requires correlating stratigraphic rock units that are much better constrained by age (biostratigraphy), paleontology and tectonics. Additionally, paleomagnetic and age data, together with the descriptions and interpretations of volcanic rocks could better clarify many aspects of the tectonic events.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We thank Lucia Angiolini, Manuel Berberian, Arthur Boucot, Robin Cocks, Anton Koopman, Joerg Mattner and other colleagues for their important comments and suggestions for improving the manuscript. Suggestions by Henrique Zerfass on the Late Paleozoic shear zones, and assistance with literature by Nico Janssen are highly appreciated. We recognize that many of the plate reconstructions beyond the Middle East region also remain unresolved but beyond the scope of this review. We therefore welcome any comments, improvements and discussion of the data and interpretations presented in this paper. The final design and drafting of the graphics by Heather Paul is appreciated.

REFERENCES

Abed, A.M., I.M. Makhlouf, B. Amireh and B. Khalil 1993. Upper Ordovician glacial deposits in southern Jordan. Episodes, v. 16, p. 316-328. Al-Hadidy, A.H. 2007. Paleozoic stratigraphic lexicon and hydrocarbon habitat of Iraq. GeoArabia, v. 12, no. 1, p. 63-130. Al-Husseini, M.I. 2000. Origin of the Arabian Plate structures: Amar Collision and Rift. GeoArabia, v. 5, no. 4, p. 527-542. Al-Husseini, M.I. 2004. Pre-Unayzah unconformity, Saudi Arabia. GeoArabia Special Publication 3, Gulf PetroLink, Bahrain, p. 15-59. Angiolini, L. and M.H. Stephenson (in press). Lower Permian brachiopods and palynomorphs from the Dorud Formation (Alborz Mountains, north Iran): new evidence for their palaeobiogeographic affinity. In press in 5th Brachiopod Congress Proceedings, and Strata. Angiolini, L., M. Balini, E. Garzanti, A. Nicora, A. Tintori, S. Crasquin-Soleau and G. Muttoni 2003. Permian climatic and palaeogeographic changes in northern Gondwana: the Khuff Formation of Interior Oman. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, v. 191, nos. 3-4, p. 269-300. Anisimova, O.I. 1979. Zapadnojevropejskije “endemiki” v srednem karbone Severnogo Kavkaza i ikh paleogeografitcheskoje znatchenije. Tektonika i stratigrafija (Kiev), v. 17, p. 42-47. (in Russian) Arthaud, F. and P. Matte 1977. Late Paleozoic strike-slip faulting in and northern Africa: result of a right-lateral shear zone between the Appalachian and the Urals. Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 88, p. 1305-1320. Avigad, D., A. Sandler, K. Kolodner, R.J. Stern, M. McWilliams, N. Miller and M. Beyth 2005. Mass-production of Cambro-Ordovician quartz-rich sandstone as a consequence of chemical weathering of Pan-African terranes: environmental implications. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. 240, p. 818-826. Berberian, M. and G.C.P. King 1981. Towards the paleogeography and tectonic evolution of Iran. Canadian Journal of the Earth Sciences, v. 18, p. 210-265. Bird, P. 2003. An updated digital model of plate boundaries. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, v. 4, p. 1027. Blodgett, R.B., D.M. Rohr and A.J. Boucot 1990. Early and Middle Devonian gastropod biogeography. In, W.S. McKerrow and C.R. Scotese (Eds.), Palaeozoic Palaeogeography and Biogeography, Geological Society Memoir, no. 12, p. 277-284. Bogolepova, O.K. 1997. The fossil content of the upper Silurian cephalopod from the Caucasus (Russia) and their palaeogeographic relationships. Palaeontology Newsletter, no. 36, p. 10-12. Brew, G. and M. Barazangi 2001. Tectonic and geologic evolution of Syria. GeoArabia, v. 6, no. 4, p. 573-616. Buday, T. 1980. The regional . State Organization for Minerals, Baghdad, 445 p. Bykadorov, V.A., V.A. Bush, O.A. Fedorenko, I.B. Filippova, N.V. Miletenko, V.N. Puchkov, A.V. Smirnov, B.S. Uzhkenov and Y.A. Volozh 2003. Ordovician-Permian palaeogeography of Central Eurasia: development of Palaeozoic petroleum-bearing basins. Journal of Petroleum Geology, v. 26, p. 325-350. Campbell, K.S.W. 1977. of the Haragan, Bois d’Arc and Frisco Formations (Early Devonian) Arbuckle Mountains Region, Oklahoma. Oklahoma Geological Survey Bulletin, v. 123, p. 1-221. Chlupác, I. 1975. The distribution of phacopid trilobites in space and time. Fossils and Strata 4, p. 399-408. Cocks, L.R.M. 2001. Ordovician and Silurian global geography. Journal of the Geological Society of London, v. 158, p. 197-210.

52

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geoarabia/article-pdf/12/3/35/4566842/ruban.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 Middle East Paleozoic Plate Tectonics

Cocks, L.R.M. and T.H. Torsvik 2002. Earth geography from 500 to 400 million years ago: a faunal and palaeomagnetic review. Journal of the Geological Society of London, v. 159, p. 631-644. Courjault-Radé, P., F. Debrenne and A. Gandin 1992. Palaeogeographic and geodynamic evolution of the Gondwana continental margins during the Cambrian. Terra Nova, v. 4, p. 657-667. Dalziel, I.W.D. 1997. Neoproterozoic-Paleozoic geography and tectonics: review, hypothesis and environmental speculation. Geological Society of America Bulletin, no. 109, p. 16-42. Droste, H.H.J. 1997. Stratigraphy of the lower Paleozoic Haima Supergroup of Oman. GeoArabia, v. 2, no. 4, p. 419-472. Edgecombe, G.D. and L. Ramsköld 1994. Earliest Devonian phacopid trilobites from central Bolivia. Palaontologische Zeitschrift, v. 68, p. 397-410. Fortey, R.A. and L.R.M. Cocks 2003. Palaeontological evidence bearing on global Ordovician-Silurian continental reconstructions. Earth-Science Reviews, v. 61, p. 245-307. Gaetani, M. 1997. The Karakorum block in , from Ordovician to Cretaceous. Sedimentary Geology, v. 109, p. 339-359. Gaetani M., P. Le Fort, S. Tanoli, L. Angiolini, A. Nicora, D. Sciunnach and A. Khan 1996. Reconnaissance Geology in Upper Chitral, Baroghil and Karambar districts (northern Karakorum, Pakistan). Geologishe Rundschau, Berlino, v. 85, p. 683-704. Gamkrelidze, I.P. 1986. Geodynamic evolution of the Caucasus and adjacent areas in Alpine time. Tectonophysics, v. 127, p. 261-277. Gamkrelidze, I.P. 1997. Terranes of the Caucasus and Adjacent Areas. Bulletin of Georgian Academy of Sciences, v. 155, p. 75-81. Garfunkel, Z. 2004. Origin of the Eastern : a reevaluation. Tectonophysics, v. 391, p. 11-34. Garzanti, E., A. Nicora, A. Tintori, D. Sciunnach and L. Angiolini 1994. Late Paleozoic stratigraphy and petrography of the Thini Chu Group (Manang, Central Nepal): sedimentary record of Gondwana glaciation and rifting of Neotethys. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia Stratigrafia, v. 100, p. 155-194. Garzanti, E., L. Angiolini and D. Sciunnach 1996a. The mid-Carboniferous tolowermost Permian succession of Spiti (Po Group and Ganmachidam Formation; Tethys Himalaya, Northern India): Gondwana glaciation and rifting of Neo-Tethys. Geodinamica Acta, v. 9, p. 78-100. Garzanti, E., L. Angiolini and D. Sciunnach 1996b. The Permian Kuling Group (Spiti, Lahaul and Zanskar; NW Himalaya): sedimentary evolution during rift/drift transition and initial opening of Neo-Tethys. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia Stratigrafia, v. 102, p. 175-200. Garzanti, E. and D. Sciunnach 1997. Early Carboniferous onset of Gondwanian glaciation and Neo-Tethyan rifting in Southern Tibet. Earth Planetary Science Letters, v. 148, p. 359-365. Garzanti, E., P. Le Fort and D. Sciunnach 1999. First report of Lower Permian basalts in South Tibet: tholeiitic magmatism during break-up and incipient spreading in Neo-tethys. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, v. 17, p. 533-546. Ghasemi, A. and C.J. Talbot 2006. A new tectonic scenario for the Sanandaj-Sirjan Zone (Iran). Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, v. 26, p. 683-693. Golonka, J. 2004. Plate tectonic evolution of the southern margin of Eurasia in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic. Tectonophysics, v. 381, p. 235-273. Göncüöglü, M.C. and H. Kozlu 2000. Early Paleozoic Evolution of the NW Gondwanaland: data from Southern Turkey and Surrounding Regions. Gondwana Research, v. 3, p. 315-324. Grabowski, G.J. and I.O. Norton 1995. Tectonic controls on the stratigraphic architecture and hydrocarbon systems of the Arabian Plate. In, M.I. Al-Husseini (Ed.), Middle East Petroleum Geosciences GEO’94. Gulf PetroLink, Bahrain, v. 1, p. 413-430. Gradstein, F.M., J.G. Ogg, A.G. Smith, F.P. Agterberg, W. Bleeker, R.A. Cooper, V. Davydov, P. Gibbard, L.A. Hinnov, M.R. House, L. Lourens, H.P. Luterbacher, J. McArthur, M.J. Melchin, L.J. Robb, J. Shergold, M. Villeneuve, B.R. Wardlaw, J. Ali, H. Brinkhuis, F.J. Hilgen, J. Hooker, R.J. Howarth, A.H. Knoll, J. Laskar, S. Monechi, K.A. Plumb, J. Powell, I. Raffi, U. Rohl, P. Sadler, A. Sanfilippo, B. Schmitz, N.J. Shackleton, G.A. Shields, H. Strauss, J. Van Dam, T. van Kolfschoten, J. Veizer and D. Wilson 2004. A 2004. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 589 p. Hünecke, H. 2006. Erosion and deposition from bottom currents during the Givetian and Frasnian: response to intensified oceanic circulation between Gondwana and Laurussia. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, v. 234, p. 146-167. Johnson, M.E., J. Rong and S. Wen-bo 2004. Paleogeographic orientation of the Sino-Korean Plate based on the evidence for a prevailing Silurian wind field. Journal of Geology, v. 112, p. 671-384. Kalvoda, J. 2002. Late Devonian-Early Carboniferous Foraminiferal Fauna: Zonations, Evolutionary Events, Paleobiogeography and Tectonic Implications. Folia Facultatis Scientiarum Universitatis Masarykianae Brunensis, Geologia, v. 39, p. 1-214. Kizeval’ter, D.S. and V.N. Robinson 1973. Bol’shoj Kavkaz. In, D.V. Nalivkin, M.A. Rzhosnitskaja and B.P. Markovskij (Eds.), Devonskaja sistema. Stratigrafija SSSR. Kn. 1, p. 220-229. Nedra, Moskva. (in Russian) Kobayashi, T. and T. Hamada 1977. Devonian trilobites of Japan in comparison with Asian, Pacific and other faunas. Special Papers of the Palaeontological Society of Japan, no. 20, p. 1-202.

53

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geoarabia/article-pdf/12/3/35/4566842/ruban.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 Ruban et al.

Kríz, J., J.M. Degardin, A. Ferretti, W. Hansch, J.C. Gutiérrez Marco, F. Paris, J.M. Piçarra D’Almeida, M. Robardet, H.P. Schönlaub and E. Serpagli 2003. Silurian Stratigraphy and Paleogeography of Gondwanan and Perunican Europe. In, E. Landing and M.E. Johnson (Eds.), Silurian Lands and Seas. Paleogeography Outside of Laurentia, New York State Museum Bulletin, no. 493, p. 105-178. Lawver, L.A., A. Grantz and L.M. Gahagan 2002. Plate kinematic evolution of the present region since the Ordovician. In, E.L. Miller, A. Grantz and S.L. Klemperer (Eds.), Tectonic Evolution of the Bering Shelf-Chukchi Sea-Arctic Margin and Adjacent Landmasses. Geological Society of America, Special Paper, no. 360, p. 333-358. Laz’ko, E.M. 1975. Regional’naja geologija SSSR. Nedra, Moskva, v. I, 334 p. (in Russian) Laz’ko, E.M. 1975. Regional’naja geologija SSSR ( of the USSR). Nedra, Moskva, v. II, 464 p. (in Russian) Lindsay, J.F. 2002. Supersequences, superbasins, supercontinents - evidence from the Neoproterozoic-early Palaeozoic basins of central Australia. Basin Research, v. 14, p. 207-223. Linnemann, U. and R.L. Romer 2002. The in Saxo-Thuringia, Germany: geochemical and Nd- Sr-Pb isotopic characterization of marginal basins with constraints to geotectonic setting and provenance. Tectonophysics, v. 352, p. 33-64. Linnemann, U., M. Gehmlich, M. Tichomirowa, B. Buschmann, L. Nasdala, P. Jonas, H. Lützner and K. Bombach 2000. From Cadomian subduction to early Palaeozoic rifting: the evolution of Saxo-Thurungia at the margin of Gondwana in the light of single zircon geochronology and basin developement (Central European Variscides, Germany). In, W. Franke, V. Haak, O. Oncken and D. Tanner (Eds.), Orogenic Processes: Quantification and Modelling in the Variscan Belt. Geological Society of London, Special Publication no. 179, p. 131-153. Lordkipanidze, M.B., S.A. Adamia and B.Z. Asanidze 1984. Evoljutsija aktivnykh okrain okeana Tetis (na primere Kavkaza). In, A.P. Lisitsin (Ed.), Paleookeanologija. 27 Mezhdunarodnyj geologitscheskij kongress, doklady. Nedra, Moskva, p. 72-83. (in Russian) Maksimova, Z.A. 1968. Srednepaleozojskije trilobity Tsentral’nogo Kazakhstana. Trudy Vsesojuznogo Geologitcheskogo Instituta (VSEGEI), novaja serija (new series), 165. Nedra, Moskva. 208 p. (in Russian) Maksimova, Z.A. 1972. Novyye devonskiye trilobity Phacopoidea (New Devonian trilobites of the Phacopoidea). Paleontogitcheskij Zhurnal, no. 1, p. 88-94. (in Russian) McCall, G.J.H. 1997. The geotectonic history of the Makran and adjacent areas of southern Iran. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, v. 15, p. 517-531. McCall, G.J.H. 2002. A summary of the geology of the Iranian Makran. In, P.D. Clift, D. Kroon, C. Gaedicke and J. Craig (Eds.), The Tectonic and Climatic Evolution of the Arabian Sea Region. Geological Society of London, Special Publication no. 195, p. 147-204. McCall, G.J.H. 2003. A critique of the analogy between Archaean and Phanerozoic tectonics based on regional mapping of the Mesozoic-Cenozoic plate convergent zone in the Makran, Iran. Research, v. 127, p. 5-17. McKerrow, W.S., C. Mac Niocaill and J.F. Dewey 2000. The Caledonian Orogeny Redefined. Journal of the Geological Society of London, v. 157, p. 1149-1154. Merriam, C.W. 1973. Paleontology and stratigraphy of the Rabbit Hill Limestone and Lone Mountain Dolomite of Central Nevada. Geological Survey Professional Paper 808, p. 1-46, 13 pls. Metcalfe, I. 1999. The ancient Tethys oceans of Asia: How many? How old? How deep? How wide? UNEAC Asia Papers, no. 1, p. 1-9. Millson, J.A., C.G.L. Mercadier, S.E. Livera and J.M. Peters 1996. The Lower Palaeozoic of Oman and its context in the evolution of a Gondwanan continental margin. Journal of the Geological Societyof London, v. 153, p. 213-230. Natal’in, B.A. and A.M.C. Sengör 2005. Late Palaeozoic to Triassic evolution of the Turan and Scythian platforms; the pre-history of the Palaeo-Tethyan closure. Tectonophysics, v. 404, p. 175-202. Okuyucu, C. and D. Vachard 2006. Late Visean foraminifers and algae from the Cataloturan Nappe, Aladag Mountains, eastern Taurides, southern Turkey. Geobios, v. 39, p. 535-554. Ormiston, A.R. 1972. Lower and Middle Devonian trilobite zoogeography of northern North America. 24th International Geological Congress 7, p. 594-604. Osterloff, P., R. Penney, J. Aitken, N. Clark and M. Al-Husseini 2004. Depositional sequence of the Al Khlata Formation, subsurface Interior Oman. GeoArabia Special Publication 3, Gulf PetroLink, Bahrain, p. 61-81. Pedder, A.E.H. and W.A. Oliver, Jr. 1990. Rugose coral distribution as a test of Devonian palaeogeographic models. In, W.S. McKerrow and C.R. Scotese (Eds.), Palaeozoic Palaeogeography and Biogeography. Geological Society of London, Memoir no. 12, p. 267-275. Pedder, A.E.H. and M.A. Murphy 2004. Emsian (Lower Devonian) Rugosa of Nevada: revision of systematics and stratigraphic ranges, and reassessment of faunal provincialism. Journal of Paleontology, v. 78, no. 5, p. 838-865. Perry, D.G. and B.D.E. Chatterton 1976. Phacops and other trilobites from Emsian age beds of the Delorme Formation, Mackenzie Mountains, Northwest Territories. Canadian Journal of Earth, v. 13, no. 10, p. 1466-1478. Pesonen, L.J., S.-A. Elming, S. Mertanen, S. Pisarevsky, M.S. D’Agrella-Filho, J.G. Meert, P.W. Schmidt, N. Abrahamsen and G. Bylund 2003. Palaeomagnetic configuration of during the Proterozoic. Tectonophysics, v. 375, p. 289-324. Quintavalle, M., M. Tongiorgi and M. Gaetani 2000. Lower to Middle Ordovician acritarchs and chitinozoans from Northern Karakorum Mountains, Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, v. 106, p. 3-18. Ramsköld, L. and L. Werdelin 1991. The phylogeny and evolution of some phacopid trilobites. Cladistics, v. 7, p. 29-74.

54

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geoarabia/article-pdf/12/3/35/4566842/ruban.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 Middle East Paleozoic Plate Tectonics

Rapalini, A.E. and H. Vizán 1993. Evidence of Intrapangaea movements in Gondwanaland. Comptes Rendus. XII ICC-P, v. 1, p. 405-434. Rapalini, M. 2003. The Armorica ‘microplate’: fact or fiction? Critical review of the concept and contradictory palaeobiogeographical data. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, v. 195, p. 125-148. Rolland, Y., Ch. Picard, A. Pecher, E. Carrio, S.M.F. Sheppard, M. Oddone and I.M. Villa 2002. Presence and geodynamic significance of Cambro-Ordovician series of SE Karakoram (N. Pakistan). Geodinamica Acta, v. 15, p. 1-21. Ruban, D.A. 2006. Diversity changes of the Brachiopods in the Northern Caucasus: a brief overview. Acta Geologica Hungarica, v. 49, p. 57-71. Ruban, D.A. and S. Yoshioka 2005. Late Paleozoic-early Mesozoic Tectonic Activity within the Donbass (Russian Platform). Trabajos de Geolog’a, v. 25, p. 101-104. Schulz, B., K. Bombach, S. Pawlig and H. Brätz 2004. Neoproterozoic to early-Palaeozoic magmatic evolution in the Gondwana-derived Austroalpine basement to the south of the Tauern Window (). International Journal of Earth Sciences, v. 93, p. 824-843. Scotese, C.R. 2004. A Continental Drift Flipbook. Journal of Geology, v. 112, p. 729-741. Sengör, A.M.C. 1990. A new model for the late Palaeozoic-Mesozoic tectonic evolution of Iran and implications for Oman. In, A.H.F. Robertson, M.P. Searle and A.C. Ries (Eds.), The Geology and Tectonics of the Oman Region. Geological Society of London, Special Publication no. 49, p. 797-831. Sepehr, M. and J.W. Cosgrove 2004. Structural framework of the Zagros Fold-Thrust Belt, Iran. Marine and Petroleum Geology, v. 21, p. 829-843. Sharland, P.R., R. Archer, D.M. Casey, R.B. Davies, S.H. Hall, A.P. Heward, A.D. Horbury and M.D. Simmons 2001. Arabian Plate Sequence Stratigraphy. GeoArabia Special Publication 2, Gulf PetroLink, Bahrain, 371 p. Shevljagin, E.V. 1986. Paleomagnetizm fanerozoja i problemy geologii Severnogo Kavkaza. Izdatel’stvo RGU, Rostov-na-Donu, 160 p. (in Russian) Stampfli, G. 1996. The intra-Alpine terrain: a palaeotethyan remnant in the Alpine Variscides. Eclogae Geologicae Helvetiae, v. 89, p. 12-42. Stampfli, G.M. 2000. Tethyan oceans. In, E. Bozkurt, J.A. Winchester and J.D.A. Piper (Eds.), Tectonics and Magmatism in Turkey and the Surrounding Area. Geological Society of London, Special Publication, v. 173, p. 1-23. Stampfli, G.M. and G.D. Borel 2002. A plate tectonic model for the Paleozoic and Mesozoic constrained by dynamic plate boundaries and restored synthetic oceanic isochrons. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. 196, p. 17-33. Stampfli, G.M., J. Mosar, P. Favre, A. Pillevuit and J.-C. Vanney 2001. Permo-Mesozoic evolution of the western Tethys realm: the NeoTethys East Mediterranean Basin connection. In, P.A. Ziegler, W. Cavazza, A.H.F. Robertson and S. Crasquin-Soleau (Eds.), Peri-Tethyan Rift/Wrench Basins and Passive Margins. Mémoires du Muséum National d’Historie Naturélle, Paris, v. 186, p. 51-108. Stampfli, G.M., J. von Raumer and G.D. Borel 2002. The Palaeozoic evolution of pre-Variscan terranes: from peri- Gondwana to the Variscan collision. In, J.R. Martinez-Catalan, R.D. Hatcher, R. Arenas and F. Diaz Garcia (Eds.), Variscan Appalachian Dynamics: The Building of the Upper Paleozoic Basement. Geological Society of America, Special Paper no. 364, p. 263-280. Stöcklin, J. and A.O. Setudehnia 1972. Lexique stratigraphique international III, 9b, Iran. CNRS, Paris, 376 p. Swanson, M.T. 1982. Preliminary model for an early transform history in central Antlantic rifting. Geology, v. 16, p. 317-320. Tawadros, E., D. Ruban and M. Efendiyeva 2006. Evolution of NE Africa and the Greater Caucasus: common patterns and petroleum potential. The Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists, the Canadian Society of Exploration Geophysicists, the Canadian Well Logging Society Joint Convention. May 15-18, 2006. Calgary, p. 531-538. Torsvik, T.H. and L.R.M. Cocks 2004. Earth geography from 400 to 250 Ma: a palaeomagnetic, faunal and facies review. Journal of the Geological Society of London, v. 161, p. 555-572. Vai, G.B. 2003. Development of the palaeogeography of from late Carboniferous to early Permian. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, v. 196, p. 125-155. Vannay, J.C. 1993. Géologie des chaines du Haut Himalaya et du Pir Panjal au Haut Lahul (NW-Himalaya, Inde). Mémoires de Géologie Lausanne, v. 16, p. 1-148. Vaslet, D. 1990. Upper Ordovician Glacial Deposits in Saudi Arabia. Episodes, v. 13, p. 147-161. Veevers, J.J. 2003. Pan-African is Pan-Gondwanaland: oblique convergence drives rotation during 650–500 Ma assembly. Geology, v. 31, p. 501–504. von Raumer, J. 1998. The Palaeozoic evolution in the Alps: from Gondwana to Pangea. Geologische Rundshau, v. 87, p. 407-435. von Raumer, J.F., G.M. Stampfli, G. Borel and F. Bussy 2002. Organization of pre-Variscan basement areas at the north-Gondwanan margin. International Journal of Earth Sciences, v. 91, p. 35-52. von Raumer, J., G.M. Stampfli and F. Bussy 2003. Gondwana-derived microcontinents – the constituents of the Variscan and Alpine collisional orogens. Tectonophysics, v. 365, p. 7-22. Wender, L.E., J.W. Bryant, M.F. Dickens, A.S. Neville and A.M. Al-Moqbel 1998. Pre-Khuff (Permian) hydrocarbon geology of the Ghawar area, eastern Saudi Arabia. 3rd Middle East Geosciences Conference, GEO’98. GeoArabia, Abstract, v. 3, no. 1, p. 167-168. Wright, A.J. and W. Haas 1990. A new Early Devonian spinose phacopid trilobite from Limekilns, New South Wales: morphology, affinities, taphonomy and palaeoenvironment. Records of the Australian Museum, v. 42, p. 137-147.

55

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geoarabia/article-pdf/12/3/35/4566842/ruban.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 Ruban et al.

Xypolias, P., W. Dörr and G. Zulauf 2006. Late Carboniferous plutonism within the pre-Alpine basement of the External Hellenides (Kithira, Greece): evidence from U-Pb zircon dating. Journal of the Geological Society of London, v. 163, p. 539-547. Ziegler, P.A., S. Cloetingh, R. Guiraud and G.M. Stampfli 2001. PeriTethyan platforms: constraints on dynamics of rifiting and basin . In, P.A. Ziegler, W. Cavazza, A.H.F. Robertson and S. Crasquin-Soleau (Eds.), Peri-Tethyan Rift/Wrench Basins and Passive Margins. Memoires du Muséum National d’Historie Naturelle, Paris, Peri-Tethys Memoir 6. p. 51-108.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Dmitry A. Ruban is a Senior Lecturer at the Geology and Geography Faculty of the Southern Federal University (Rostov-na-Donu, Russia). He received a Diploma in Geology from the Rostov State University in 2000, and a PhD (Russian equivalent) from the same university in 2004. Dmitry joined the faculty in 2003, and now teaches various courses to students, leads summer field practice, and supervises diploma theses. His broad research interests include Phanerozoic stratigraphy, paleobiology (fossil diversity and mass extinctions), paleoenvironmental reconstructions, tectonics, and geoconservation. He has conducted field work in the Caucasus, Rostov Dome, Donbass, and the Urals. Dmitry pays special attention to interregional comparisons and correlations. He has participated in a number of collaborative projects with geologists from Azerbaijan, Brazil, Poland, Canada, Japan, and USA and has published 10 papers in international journals and about 100 papers in Russian scientific media. Dmitry is also a permanent book reviewer of the German journal “Zentralblatt für Geologie und Paläontologie, Teil II”. He is a member of the Swiss Association of Petroleum Geologists and Engineers. [email protected]

Moujahed Al-Husseini founded Gulf PetroLink in 1993 in Manama, Bahrain. Gulf PetroLink is a consultancy aimed at transferring technology to the Middle East petroleum industry. Moujahed received his BSc in Engineering Science from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran (1971), MSc in Operations Research from Stanford University, California (1972), PhD in Earth Sciences from Brown University, Rhode Island (1975) and Program for Management Development from Harvard University, Boston (1987). Moujahed joined Saudi Aramco in 1976 and was the Exploration Manager from 1989 to 1992. In 1996, Gulf PetroLink launched the journal of Middle East Petroleum Geosciences, GeoArabia, for which Moujahed is Editor-in-Chief. Moujahed also represented the GEO Conference Secretariat, Gulf PetroLink-GeoArabia in Bahrain from 1999-2004. He has published about 30 papers covering seismology, exploration and the regional geology of the Middle East, and is a member of the AAPG, AGU, SEG, EAGE and the Geological Society of London. [email protected]

Yumiko Iwasaki is a PhD candidate in the Earth and Environment Sciences Department at the City University of New York, USA. She received a BA in Geology from Hunter College (CUNY), New York in 1996. Yumiko’s research, in association with the Division of Paleontology (Invertebrates) at the American Museum of Natural History, New York, took her to Bolivia, Peru and Morocco for fieldwork. She has also worked in the collections and helped translate Japanese scientific literature for staff. Yumiko has taught geology at Brooklyn College (CUNY) (1999–2002) and at Hunter College as an Adjunct Professor (2003–2005). Her research interests include Devonian phacopid trilobite phylogeny, Devonian biogeography, and Devonian stratigraphy of Bolivia. [email protected]

Manuscript received December 15, 2005 Revised January 31, 2007 Accepted February 11, 2007 Press version proofread by authors March 3, 2007

56

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/geoarabia/article-pdf/12/3/35/4566842/ruban.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021